First migrants held for Rwanda deportation flights confirmed, says UK

Under its contentious new policy, the UK government acknowledged on Wednesday that it has detained an indeterminate number of migrants in recent days with the intention of sending them to Rwanda in July.

It happens one week after legislators declared Rwanda to be a safe third country, putting an end to months of legislative bickering and passing a law permitting the deportation of some asylum seekers.

The Supreme Court ruled last year that transferring migrants to Rwanda in this manner would be unlawful because it “would expose them to a real risk of ill-treatment,” but the new laws got around that decision.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised to halt the flow of migrants from continental Europe who arrive in small boats. Prior to the start of the deportation flights in “10 to 12 weeks,” he pledged last week to start detaining people right now.

Reports of immigration enforcement officers holding people earmarked for the flights emerged earlier this week. On Wednesday, the interior ministry confirmed that “a series of nationwide operations” was under way.

“The first illegal migrants set to be removed to Rwanda have now been detained,” it added.

Calling it “another major milestone” in the Rwanda plan, the ministry released photographs and a video of immigration enforcement officers detaining several migrants at different residences.

They were seen being led away in handcuffs and put into secure vehicles.

A spokesman for Sunak said the UK leader was pleased that “the first detentions have taken place.

“It’s obviously an important part of now operationalising the plan to get flights off the ground in nine to 11 weeks time and provide the effective deterrent that we need to stop seeing these dangerous boat crossings,” he added.

The FDA civil servant union said that it has appealed the new legislation, arguing that it effectively forces its members to go against their governing code.

“Civil servants should never be left in a position where they are conflicted between the instructions of ministers and adhering to the Civil Service Code, yet that is exactly what the Government has chosen to do”, said Dave Penman, FDA’s general secretary.

“It’s a political choice from the government, made not for the good of the country but to avoid upsetting either of the warring factions within its own party”, he said, adding “it’s also irresponsible”.

Missing migrants

A senior minister said Tuesday the government expected to deport 5,700 migrants to Rwanda this year, after the interior ministry confirmed that Kigali had “in principle” agreed to accept that number.

Of those, 2,143 “can be located for detention” before being flown there, the ministry said, leaving more than 3,500 currently accounted for.

Ministers have insisted the enforcement teams will find them.

The government has increased detention capacity to more than 2,200 spaces ahead of the first Rwanda flights, it said Wednesday.

Commercial charter planes have also been booked and an airport has been put on standby, it added.

On Tuesday, London also confirmed that the first failed asylum seeker had travelled to Rwanda under a separate voluntary scheme.

Rwanda, home to 13 million people in Africa’s Great Lakes region, claims to be one of the most stable countries on the continent and has drawn praise for its modern infrastructure.

But rights groups accuse veteran President Paul Kagame of ruling in a climate of fear, stifling dissent and free speech. UK opposition parties, UN agencies and French President Emmanuel Macron have also criticised the Rwanda scheme.

Sunak’s ruling Conservatives argue the threat of being deported to Rwanda will deter tens of thousands of annual cross-Channel arrivals, and insist the policy is already having an impact.

But the main Labour opposition has repeatedly dismissed it as a “gimmick” that will not stop the cross-Channel arrivals.

Official statistics show arrivals have increased by more than a quarter in the first third of the year compared to the same period in 2023.

AFP